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Co-workers go for cash at Wrigley on 'Bucks'

Co-workers go for cash at Wrigley on 'Bucks'

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By Mark Newman
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MLB.com |

The 32nd episode in season 2 of the hit MLB.com game show "Bucks on the Pond" powered by Ford marks a return to Wrigley Field, where a quartet of Cubs fans won $240 in June and then a quintet banked $250 a month later. Will co-workers Lindsey Murphy and Kayla Hooker continue the trend?

MLB.com has doled out $20,005 on the concourses of 25 of the 30 Major League ballparks over the previous 60 overall episodes dating back to last August. Watch as the two human resources representatives for SC2, a Caterpillar supply-chain firm in Peoria, Ill., field trivia behind the bleacher bums in an effort to more than cover the cost of a day at the Friendly Confines.

"I've never been here, so I guess my first experience is the best time I can have," Hooker said. "I was surprised. It's just a good time. I couldn't believe I was asked to play, and I've got a great partner."

Hooker's partner is also her softball teammate at the company, which filled a bus with employees and headed up north, the reason they were at the game. Hooker plays second and Murphy the outfield.

"I thought it was awesome to be picked to play out of everyone there," Murphy said. "I've been to Wrigley a couple times. My favorite part is probably all the hyped up Cubs fans here. It keeps everything fun all day long, and I was super excited to be on 'Bucks,' because I've never done that before."

"Bucks" is hosted by Jeremy Brisiel, and you might be a part of this season when you least expect it. Fans at the ballpark interact with MLB.com's studio through the magic of technology in conjunction with game action inside, and shows are released each Tuesday and Thursday.

Contestants are asked a trivia question -- general knowledge and baseball -- on each pitch during a half-inning of baseball. Get the question correct and win money. Get the question wrong and it's a strike. Three strikes and you're out.

The questions' difficulty and value increase with the number of outs in the on-field action: $5 easy questions to start, $10 medium-difficulty questions after one out, $20 hard questions after two outs. If the contestants last longer than the team's at-bat, they win the bucks in their bank.

Cross the $100 mark during the show, and that's where Frank Thomas comes into play. You can wager any part of your bank on that next question, which is asked each episode by the 2014 Hall of Fame candidate. Answer correctly and you win, answer incorrectly and you lose that amount ... and it's another strike.

"You've just got to go for it," Murphy advised future contestants. "I was nervous, but it was fun."

Go back 10 episodes for the previous "Bucks" visit to Wrigley and see how that quintet handled the mix of baseball and pop-culture trivia.

"A sunny summer day at Wrigley for a Cubs game with old friends is about as good as it gets," Jamie Gladfester of Chicago said after participating in that episode, "but to throw in the possibility for some free money via trivia really pushed it over the top."